Former UNC quarterback shares experience under Belichick: ‘It felt like there’s no air’

UNC football coach Bill Belichick during a press conference on Aug. 13, 2025, inside the Bill Koman Practice Complex.

Legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick had a tough go of things at the collegiate level last season, his first on the sidelines as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels football team. North Carolina went 4-8, with several of the losses coming in blowout fashion.

There were concerns heading into the season that Belchick’s “no nonsense” attitude and approach toward coaching would make relating with college students difficult. Now, one of his former players, quarterback Gio Lopez, who transferred to Wake Forest, is corroborating those concerns.

“Back at the other school, it felt like there’s no air,” Lopez said, via Sports Illustrated’s Logan Lazarczyk. “Here, it’s fun again. They’re moving us in the right direction, energized, and guys are enjoying football. It’s like fresh air. I’d never had to respond to tough situations like that on that loud of a scale.”

“It was more like work,” Lopez explained. “After that first game, it felt like getting through the day. You don’t want to live like that, where you’re up at night thinking about the next day.”

Had to be Bill’s way

Lopez’s dad also dished on his son’s experience in Chapel Hill.

“You were ridiculed if you didn’t do it exactly the way he was told,” Lopez’s dad, Barney, said. “You could be at the dang line, see the play is about to be blown up, but if you try to call it off or audible, you were ridiculed.”

For Gio, transferring was about a fresh start, not just money.

“It’s about more than money,” Lopez said. “You’ve got to see the plan. You have to follow how you really feel. Do you feel like you really should be there or are you going for one reason? If you feel like it’s all about external gains, maybe you shouldn’t be there.”